Nonlinear optical frequency conversion includes any process where one or more optical inputs provided to a nonlinear optical device produce one or more optical outputs, where the output radiation includes radiation at one or more frequencies (or wavelengths) not present in the input radiation. Examples of nonlinear frequency conversion include second harmonic generation (SHG), sum frequency generation (SFG), difference frequency generation (DFG), four wave mixing, third harmonic generation, parametric oscillation, etc. Many nonlinear optical processes require phase-matching to proceed efficiently. If the phase matching condition is satisfied, then the nonlinear interaction proceeds constructively along the entire active length of the device, while if the phase matching condition is not satisfied, then radiation from different parts of the nonlinear device interferes destructively to reduce conversion efficiency. As a result, investigation of such processes (e.g., second order processes such as DFG, SFG, and SHG) has concentrated primarily on methods for phase-matching.
The phase-matching condition can be expressed in geometrical terms. For example, phase-matching for SHG requires the wave vector of the second harmonic wave to be twice as long as the wave vector of the input wave (i.e., the pump wave). Due to material dispersion (i.e., the wavelength dependence of the index of refraction), the SHG phase matching condition is ordinarily not satisfied. Birefringent phase-matching (BPM) and quasi phase-matching (QPM) are two methods of phase-matching that have been extensively investigated. In BPM, birefringent materials are employed and the interaction geometry and wave polarization are selected such that the phase matching condition is satisfied. For example, the pump and second harmonic waves can have the same index of refraction to phase-match SHG. In QPM, the nonlinear device is spatially modulated to provide phase matching. For example, periodic spatial modulation of a nonlinear device can provide a device k-vector K such that 2 kp±K=ksh to phase-match SHG, where kp is the pump wave vector and ksh is the second harmonic wave vector. A common method of providing spatial modulation for QPM is to controllably alter the sign of the nonlinear coefficient (e.g., by poling a ferroelectric material).
In more general terms, QPM can be regarded as a method for engineering the spectral response of a nonlinear optical device to provide various desirable results. From this point of view, periodic QPM is a special case of QPM that is especially appropriate for maximizing conversion efficiency at a single set of input and output wavelengths. Other design constraints can lead to various non-periodic QPM methods. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,307 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,304 aperiodic QPM is employed in connection with frequency conversion of short optical pulses. Since short pulses include multiple wavelengths, periodic QPM optimized for a single wavelength is not preferred. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,214, a QPM grating having multiple sections, each having a different period, is employed to phase-match multiple nonlinear processes. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,714,569 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,405, QPM for two or more nonlinear processes simultaneously is also considered.
Increasing the wavelength acceptance bandwidth by periodic or aperiodic phase reversal is considered by Bortz et al., in Electronic Letters 30(1), pp34–35, 1994. Sinusoidally chirped QPM is considered by Gao et al., in Photonics Technology Letters, 16(2), pp557–559, 2004. Combination of a phase reversal grating and a periodic grating for QPM is considered by Chou et al., in Optics Letters, 24(16), pp1157–1159, 1999.
In some cases, it is desirable to specify a nonlinear device spectral response (e.g., normalized SHG efficiency) over a range of frequencies. In such cases, the above-described methods may or may not be applicable, depending on whether or not the desired spectral response falls into the set of spectral responses provided by the method. For example, QPM gratings having several periodic sections provide a spectral response having several peaks, each peak having characteristic side lobes due to the sin(x)/x (i.e., sinc(x)) response from each grating section. If the desired spectral response is one or several sinc-like peaks, then this method is applicable. If the desired spectral response is different (e.g., the side lobes need to be eliminated), then this method may not be applicable.
Accordingly, it would be an advance in the art to provide QPM having a specified spectral response (or tuning curve).